Partnership

Listen to these lyrics from the perspective of God speaking to you. "I love you more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine. You are mine and you shine for me too! I love you yesterday and today and tomorrow. I'll say it again and again: I love you more!" ("More," by Matthew West) God loves you so much that He sent his Son, the one and only, to die for you (see John 3:16). God is love!

The central passage for tonight comes from 1 Samuel 30:23-24, which says: "David replied, 'No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.'" (NIV) The men who fought in the battle wanted to keep all of the plunder for themselves and share none with those who stayed at camp. That was not what God wanted. Those who stayed behind also played a part in the plan.

Partnership is essential in many things. Leadership is one of them. You cannot do everything on your own. Even in cases where we are acting "alone," we must remember to let God guide us.

"The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" (Genesis 2:18, NIV) God even said it is not good for us to be alone. Why should we think any differently?

"'For where two or three come together in My Name, there I am with them.'" (Jesus in Matthew 18:20, NIV)

"...the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." (Romans 8:6b, NIV)

Also, don't neglect the "little people." There is more to a team than those on the front end. Lots of stuff goes on in the background. Without the behind-the-scenes roles, plans would unravel--quickly.

Tonight's reflection question asks: "How do you encourage partnership?"

My recommendation is to put teams together with members who will complement each other. As the leader, you can be the one who assigns the teams. You need to know your team members. This will greatly help in your choosing the partnerships. Also, pray for God's guidance in choosing teams and partnerships wisely. Then, listen for His leadership.

God bless you!